6. Nelle Betrayal in the Forest
Nelle: Betrayal in the Forest
Nelle didn’t return to the camp until just past dawn, her limbs sore and stiff with cold.
The ice in her bones hadn’t melted at all in the evening, nor had the voice gone away.
The only thing it had done was grow less insistent.
She shivered as it whispered again, begging her to go after the lieutenants once more.
She had to leave. There was no more putting it off. She’d just gather her things and?—
“Nelle!” Kai jogged up, relief in his nut-brown eyes. He pulled her into a crushing hug. “Thank goodness you’re alright. I thought you were gone for sure! Did the kids find you?”
Nelle pulled away from him. “The kids?” Nausea welled up in her stomach, and she felt like she was going to be sick. “What do you mean?”
Kai wouldn’t meet her eyes. “They got worried when they woke up and you weren’t at the Big House. Hansel went off to look for you, and Gretyl followed him.”
Nelle’s eyes widened. “And you let them?”
“They ran off before I could say anything,” Kai grumbled, his arms crossed over his chest. “You’ve got to understand, Little Sister, they’ve never been at camp without you. They thought you might have gotten hurt or been in danger.”
“And now one of them might be hurt or in danger. For Starkind’s sake, Kai…” Nelle shook her head. “I’ll go out and find them. If you see Kate, tell her to mind the little ones.”
Kai shook his head. “No, no. They’re my kids, Nelle. I should be?—”
“You’ve got to get to today’s hunt, and I’m more than capable of finding Hansel and Gretyl,” Nelle muttered, before dashing back the way she came. On the way out of the gate, she almost bumped into Saphira, who was tucking a beautiful scarlet rose into her hair.
“Have you seen the kids?” Nelle asked breathlessly.
“Who?” Saphira asked, a frown marring her perfect pale skin.
“Hansel and Gretyl? Your step-kids. Kai said they went out into the woods, looking for me,” Nelle said.
“Oh. No. I haven’t seen them,” Saphira said. “I’m sure they’re around here somewhere, though. If I see them, I’ll tell them you’re looking for them, though.”
“Thanks,” Nelle said, before continuing back out into the woods.
They couldn’t have gotten far, she mused as she walked, her mind whirling with worries and questions.
At least they drowned out the voice at the back of her head, for now.
She’d always found that her anxiety could drown out the voice, but only for a short time.
If she couldn’t find the kids before the voice came back?—
“Nellie!” She whirled at the sound of her name.
Seeing Will striding toward her, a jaunty smile fixed on his face, her heart gave a tremulous flutter.
No. Bad Nelle, she scolded herself. You should focus on finding the kids, not flirting with your crush.
Besides, you’re not going to be here much longer.
Still, she couldn’t help but smile as Will got closer. “There you are,” he said. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“You have?” Nelle stared at him, and, with a sudden jolt, she remembered what had occurred the night before. He wasn’t looking for her because he was interested in her. He was looking for her to kick her out of the camp.
Still, the cheerful smile remained in place. “Yeah, of course. I need your help with something. Something only you can do.”
Nelle’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“I need your help,” Will repeated, reaching for her hand. “So, what do you say, Nellie? Can you help a friend?”
Nelle hesitated. “I don’t know. I need to find Hansel and Gretyl, Kai’s kids. He said they went out into the forest looking for me.”
Will gave a careless shrug. “Well, maybe we’ll find them on our way.
They couldn’t have gone that far, and, besides, they’re smart kids.
They know how to care for themselves.” Nelle opened her mouth to argue.
Both kids were smart, but Gretyl was still blind, and Hansel had a bad habit of losing his sister.
But before she could object, he squeezed her hand.
“Come on. This errand won’t take long, I promise. ”
Nelle sighed. “Alright. But once I help you, you’ve got to help me find the kids. Kai must be worried sick.”
Will muttered something that she couldn’t quite hear, then offered another amiable smile. “Of course. Come on. This way.”
Nelle let him lead her away from her favorite spot in the forest. “So, er…what’s this that you need my help with?”
“Oh, nothing in particular,” Will said evasively. “How are you doing, by the way? The night watch said you stayed out of camp all night.”
Nelle nodded. “I thought it was safer for everyone involved.”
“Yeah, plus, you didn’t want to get kicked out of camp without saying goodbye to everyone,” Will said, nodding sagely. “I get it. If we can’t find you, then we can’t tell you not to come back.”
“No, that’s not?—”
Will interrupted her. “How’d you do that to the big blowhard, by the way? When you turned him to ice, I mean. I’ve seen nothing like it, and, trust me, I’ve been around Afeyra. I’ve seen a lot.”
Nelle frowned. “The big blowhard?” she repeated softly. “He had a name, you know.”
“Yeah, I know. Little John. As if anything about him was little.” Will rolled his eyes. “He was a pain in my?—”
“He’s dead,” Nelle reminded him. “Or as good as, since I don’t know how to reverse the spell. You shouldn’t be talking about him like that.”
Will shook his head. “Yeah, well, he was still a pain. He was always telling me what I could or could not do. It was infuriating. I’m not saying I’m glad he’s dead, but I’m definitely glad that I don’t have to deal with him breathing down my neck anymore. And thanks to you.” He winked at her.
Stealthily, Nelle removed her hand from his. “It isn’t right to speak about him like that, though. He was still a person. He had people who loved him, people who cared about him. We should respect him, even if he’s not around anymore.”
Will scoffed. “I believe that if you want respect, you’ve got to earn it.
And big, bad, and ugly? He definitely hadn’t earned it.
At least, not from me. He’s almost as bad as that stuck up du—” Suddenly, he stopped short, as if he’d just remembered who he was talking to.
“Well, anyway…it’s too bad that you turned him to ice last night.
We might have had a lot of fun together.
But I guess that won’t happen now…” He paused, then hurriedly continued, “You know, what with your being sent out of the camp and everything?”
“I…I guess so,” Nelle said. For the first she wondered if her trust in Will had been misplaced. She looked back at the camp, wondering if there was time to turn and continue her search for the kids. “Sorry, but where are you taking me?”
“Just ahead,” Will said. As if he read her mind, his hand snaked out and grabbed her arm, squeezing it tight enough to make her cry out. “Don’t worry, Nellie, you’re in excellent hands, I promise.”
Nelle shook her head. “Let me go. You’re hurting me,” she said, trying to wrench away from him, but the man tightened his grip.
“Don’t fight me, Nellie. Trust me, this is all for the best,” he muttered under his breath. “Gisborne, are you here?”
From behind a wizened old oak tree, the other lieutenant appeared. “I’m here, same as I told you I would be,” he growled. “No sign of the beast yet, though.”
“Good.” Will thrust her toward the broader man. “Why don’t you tie her up and make sure she doesn’t go anywhere before it gets here? I don’t want to hunt her down in the woods again.”
“I’m not your servant, Scarlett,” Gisborne said, though he pulled a length of rope from his side and wrenched Nelle’s arms behind her back. “You can do your dirty work yourself.”
“Yeah, I could,” Will agreed breezily. “But I won’t. That’s what I brought you around for.”
Gisborne snarled at the smaller man, but before he could say anything more, Nelle stomped, hard, on his foot. He let out a cry of pain and released her arms.
Without looking back, Nelle took off into the forest. She wasn’t far from camp, and she knew this area well. She just had to?—
Something slammed into hard from the side.
“You little witch,” Gisborne snarled. “I’m going to beat you within an inch of your life.
You’ll be begging the beast to take you by the time I get done with you.
” His right hand curled into a fist and he lifted it slowly, threateningly, so that she knew what he intended to do.
Nelle squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact.
Before he could land a blow, however, a deep rumbling voice came from her right. “Enough, Gisborne.” Nelle peeked through her lashes to see a huge half man-half dragon creature, his scaly hand wrapped firmly around her attacker’s wrist. “You let that fist fly, and you’ll have me to answer to.”
Nelle thought she saw a flash of fear in the enormous man’s eyes. “I…I…”
“Get off of her,” the beast growled.
“Yes…yes, sir,” Gisborne said, scrambling to his feet.
Nelle stayed where she was, staring up at the strange creature, though whether in shock or in fright, she wasn’t sure.
“Go. Both of you. Get out of here,” the beast said. “And remember what I said last night: if you come near my home again, you’ll pay with your lives.”
“Yes. Yes, of course,” Gisborne said, before fleeing from the creature. For his part, Will looked back at Nelle, something unreadable in his eyes.
The creature tilted his head. “Was I unclear?” he demanded, his voice quiet yet commanding. “Leave, Scarlett.”
“Yes. Yes, er, right,” Will said, shoving his hands in his pockets and loping away, whistling as he walked.
Now the creature turned his attention to Nelle. “Get up. Let’s go. I don’t have all day,” he grumbled.
“Er, what?” Nelle asked.
“Which part was unclear?” the creature bit out.
“Um, all of it?” Nelle scrambled to her feet, slightly impeded by her bound wrists. “Who are you? And why in Afeyra would I go with you?”
The creature studied her carefully. “You don’t remember me?”
Nelle’s eyes widened. “What?”
“I thought I was special, but it seems you turn many people into hideous monsters,” the creature said, shaking his head.
“Turn many…what are you talking about? Who are you? And how do you know me?” Nelle demanded.
The beast stood still for a moment, as if not sure what to do. Then he cleared his throat. “My name is…was…Kit. As for the rest, we should get back to my home. I don’t trust those two cretins to honor their word.”
“Their word?” Nelle repeated. “Their word about what?”
“Their word about you,” the creature murmured. “They trespassed on my lands last night, stealing something that was precious to me. To let them go, they offered to hand you over to me. Does that clear anything up?”
“They bought their freedom…with me?” Nelle asked, disbelievingly.
“That doesn’t make sense. What would you want with me?
I’m nobody. I just—” A horrible thought occurred to her.
“Oh, starkind, do you want me to turn someone into an ice sculpture for you? Because I’ll warn you now, I don’t know how I did that.
Something just takes over my mind. I can’t explain it. But?—”
“By the Maker, you talk a lot,” Kit grumbled. “Here. Let’s just do this the easy way.” With two long strides, he was at her side and, before she knew what was happening, he’d tossed her over his shoulder and was bearing her away into the woods, far from everything she ever remembered knowing.